fitness or fatness ?

siraxeman

Do you do regular exercise or are you a couch potato ?

I read through a thread on here a week or so ago about a park run thing and I didn't know what that was exactly at first but seems it was a 5k run.

Me personally I go to the gym 4 times a week - cardio & weights on alternate sessions. Feel better for it, am in much better shape than I was before I started doing this 3yrs ago (was 42 and out of shape) but even to this day I HATE cardio. I do it now out of a self discipline thing. I usually do 5-6.5k on a treadmill and do a bit of steep inclined fast walking in that, which slows my time down but I just can't run none stop for 5k + I have to reduce to a 7kmph walk now and again. I've never done more than 9k but I know I could if I had to but I am gradually slowing up as the distance tots up. I was amazed at some of the times people cited on here that they do 5k. Me....tis sad but 32 mins. 30 if I really push myself and feel crap doing it. I'm 45 now though and 5'11 @ 14.5 stone, so I comfort myself telling myself that's ok for my age lol. It never gets much easier and unlike the weight sessions I never look forward to the cardio. Now the weight training is a different matter - I enjoy it and like the changes it does to your body composition and seeing my strength go up gives me a buzz. Gains is good. Cardio, I wonder if i'll ever like it. Besides the few miles on the treadmill I do occasionally mix in some elliptical (cross trainer) but with quite a bit of resistance on the machine 50% of its max and just 6 mins on that can get you..well me breathing heavy. Rowing to for 2-3km but haven't done that much lately. I often like to do a few mins on the stair master stepper machine after my 'run' as that seems to rack up the calories burned at double the rate of running...but also rags you a lot quicker and you end up coming off that with your legs turning to jelly if on a decent setting.

So what do you do? and how long have you trained? C'mon lets have it!    

Iamnobody

I don't do much cardio I hate running and can never be arsed to cycle.
I pretty much exclusively lifted weights between the ages of 19-22 and added nearly a couple of stone to my natural weight.  Then probably another stone of blubber in the last 15 years!

I don't know what I weight now - but I'm in better shape now than last year because...

I've recently started going back to the gym and have settled on this routine:

2k on rower

Circuits on weight stations or free weights - medium weights, very short rest between sets:
Chest
Shoulders
Back
Arms 
Repeat above but different exercises.

2k on rower post workout

That works for me - I enjoy it and its over and done with in 45 mins. 

If I can do this 2 or 3 times a week and make small adjustments in my diet I'm happy. 

I also walk about half an hour a day with the hound and doing the school run.

Roland

siraxeman said:

Do you do regular exercise or are you a couch potato ?

Most days start with a one hour walk. At certain times of the year, like now, I spend a couple of hours each day gardening. Last week I was stacking firewood and splitting kindling. So it's regular, and it's varied, but probably not the type of exercise you're asking about.

RandallFlagg

Couch potato and hate myself for it

Sambostar

Neither

vasselmeyer

I'm pretty much the opposite to you. I LOVE cardio but then I'm 6'2" and 10 stone 10 lbs so I don't have the extra weight you're carrying. I really dislike weight training, although body weight exercises and stuff like plyometrics I really enjoy. I do a bunch of stuff like boxfit (great for cardio and fat-burning), circuits (cardio again and a lot of all-round body conditioning) and resistance training (body conditioning).

I think, as long as you find an exercise regime you enjoy, stick with it. As long as you're doing something other than sitting on your arse all day and all evening and can manage your calorie intake, you're golden.

Drew_TNBD

I cycle between 70 and 100 miles a week. But I drink a lot. Probably more than Sambostar does.

holnrew

I was doing the gym thing and loved it, but can't afford it now. I'd like to get a base level of fitness where I can run 5k in 25 minutes, then when I can afford the gym again, add weights and HIIT. I've always been very unfit and that's the biggest thing I'd like to change. I've lost a fair bit of weight,  but could lose a little more I guess. Only trouble is you lose muscle mass too.

The thing I loved about lifting weights is the positive impact it had on my mental health, it was like an escape, kind of zen just focusing on one thing. And the physical effort got rid of aggressoin and left me feeling pretty positive. 

RobDavies

I do an hour of cardio in the gym, three times a week. 

I also follow a weightwatchers plan for plan for six days out of seven.  

The seventh day is the problem, though......  

BGG

Couch potato and takeaway addict until three weeks ago when I got my rescue greyhound.
Now I walk 4-5 miles a day and more on a weekend, and don't bother with takeaways, down to holes on my belt in just three weeks.

quarky

I run a couple of times a week. Generally about 5km/6km each run (did my first 10km for about a year this morning). Good exercise and no membership fee.

quarky

Drew_TNBD said:

I cycle between 70 and 100 miles a week. But I drink a lot. Probably more than Sambostar does.

NO. WAY.

Drew_TNBD

quarky said:

Drew_TNBD said:

I cycle between 70 and 100 miles a week. But I drink a lot. Probably more than Sambostar does.

NO. WAY.

Way.

monquixote

I'm quite fat, but I do quite a lot of exercise (running and swimming) which I started doing in the early part of the year. I feel much better as a result.

hotpot

Couch potato & a fine figure of a slob.

strtdv

Former couch potato.
I literally hadn't done any exercise since 6th form (12 years ago now).
In April I decided enough was enough, I was 100kg and my BMI just about 30 so getting into the "obese" category, so I took up cycling.
I now do 70-100 miles per week, and have lost over 50lbs.
My BMI has gone from 30 to 22.4, and I've dropped from a 37" waist to a 32" waist.

I'm also doing a little resistance training as cycling does nothing for upper body strength (as it basically doesn't require it).
I don't go to the gym, but try to get in about 3-4 cycles per week and 1-2 resistance sessions (often on the same day as a cycle so I can have proper rest days.
The plan is to keep up my fitness over the winter with interval training to build up speed, and then try for a 25mph average over an hour next season.

I feel a lot better for it, I have way more energy, and I'm now at lower risk of cancer and type 2 diabetes than I was which is a nice bonus.

fretmeister

Former potato.

Now running 3 or 4 times per week.

TheBlueWolf

I use a pedometer to try and get 10K steps in.......I average about 7,000 daily. 

marantz1300

I can't run or jump.
I'm 57  ,18st 7lb.
Got my left ankle fused so can't squat.
Cardio hurts a lot. 
But I lift weights,it relax me.
500kg X 10 reps on the leg press.
Could do more ,but can't put any more plates on the bar.
200kg dead lift.
300kg rack pulls.
170kg press on the hamers machine.
Left shoulders rota cuff fucked
I would  rather be weaker and able to run/walk without pain though.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii98/marantz1300/Mobile Uploads/20160809_105615-ANIMATION_zpsonaokvdj.gif

octatonic

Penn and Teller did an interesting thing on 'Bullshit!' looking at how fitness and fatness are pretty separate.
Essentially it is possible to be a bit fat and yet quite fit/athletic.
It is possible to be thin and very unfit as well.

Fatness is mostly related to the food you consume and moderately going over your total each day accumulates rather quickly, especially for those with sedentary jobs.

Exercise builds bodies up if you eat roughly the same as you expend.
You might exercise an hour or two a day at the most, but in order to lose weight you need to be watching your diet every minute you are awake if you want to lose fat.

strtdv

octatonic said:

Penn and Teller did an interesting thing on 'Bullshit!' looking at how fitness and fatness are pretty separate.
Essentially it is possible to be a bit fat and yet quite fit/athletic.
It is possible to be thin and very unfit as well.

Fatness is mostly related to the food you consume and moderately going over your total each day accumulates rather quickly, especially for those with sedentary jobs.

Exercise builds bodies up if you eat roughly the same as you expend.
You might exercise an hour or two a day at the most, but in order to lose weight you need to be watching your diet every minute you are awake if you want to lose fat.

This is only partly true, as if you are fat but have a high capacity for exercise ("fitness" as it were), it doesn't fully negate the increased mortality risk from your obesity.